Playboy Germany to continue publishing nude images in magazine

'The Americans’ decision has no bearing on the direction and the design of the German Playboy'

Playboy recently announced it would no longer run 'full nudity' on its pages (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Images of nude women will continue to feature in German editions of Playboy, despite its US counterpart announcing it would no longer include such photos on its pages.

Florian Boitin, editor-in-chief of German Playboy, said in a statement reported by NBC News: “To be clear immediately, the Americans’ decision has no bearing on the direction and the design of the German Playboy.”

1953

Hugh Hefner launched Playboy

The Times reported Mr Boitin as saying: “Yes, in Germany we will continue to show naked breasts in Playboy. We are appreciated by readers and advertisers alike for our multi-faceted approach to erotic photography.”

Earlier this week, the US version of Playboy announced it would stop publishing pictures of naked women from March 2016, although females in provocative poses would still be featured.

The reason behind the change was partly down to the rise of pornography available on the internet. Playboy chief executive Scott Flanders told the newspaper: “You’re now just one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”

The magazine will also continue to have a ‘Playmate of the Month’.

Playboy’s chief content officer, Cory Jones, said of the changes: “Don’t get me wrong. 12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.”

The magazine’s website stopped displaying nudity in August 2014, driving up web traffic from four million unique users per month to 16 million, according to The New York Times.

Playboy was launched by Hugh Hefner, now 89, in 1953. Its first cover featured actress Marilyn Monroe wearing clothes.